You don't need to use the official Stadia Controller if you want to use Google's game streaming service on your TV — or any dedicated controller, for that matter. Google is rolling out a feature that lets TV-bound Stadia players use their Android phone or iPhone as a virtual gamepad. You can also use third-party gamepads by connecting them to your phone through Bluetooth or USB.

The widened controller support requires Android TV, Google TV or a Chromecast Ultra. In most cases, you'll need to either add a controller or enable the touch gamepad through the Stadia mobile app, and promptly choose "play on TV." Android TV and Google TV owners will also need to enable a controller through the avatar section on the big-screen Stadia app.

This might help boost Stadia's adoption. While it has long given you the flexibility of where you can play, you haven't had many choices for that setup. It's now relatively easy to use a favorite gamepad with your TV or, if you prefer, save a little money and use no gamepad at all. It won't be perfect, however. A phone's touchscreen can only do so much, and using your phone as a go-between is bound to add a little latency.

You'd think large galaxies in the early universe would have had plenty of 'fuel' left for new stars, but a recent discovery suggests that wasn't always the case. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found six early galaxies (about 3 billion years after the Big Bang) that were unusually "dead" — that is, they'd run out of the cold hydrogen necessary for star formation. This was the peak period for star births, according to lead researcher Kate Whitaker, so the disappearance of that hydrogen is a mystery.

The team found the galaxies thanks to strong gravitational lensing, using galaxy clusters to bend and magnify light from the early universe. Hubble identified where stars had formed in the past, while ALMA detected cold dust (a stand-in for the hydrogen) to show where stars would have formed if the necessary ingredients had been present.

The galaxies are believed to have expanded since, but not through star creation. Rather, they grew through mergers with other small galaxies and gas. Any formation after that would have been limited at most.

The findings are a testament to the combined power of Hubble and ALMA, not to mention Hubble's capabilities decades after its launch. At the same time, it underscores the limitations of both the technology and human understanding by raising a number of questions. Whitaker noted that scientists don't know why the galaxies died so quickly, or what happened to cut off the fuel. Was the gas heated, expelled or just rapidly consumed? It might take a while to provide answers, if answers are even possible.

Some new iPad mini customers aren't enjoying the tiny tablet's new screen as much as they'd like. 9to5Macreports that users (includingThe Verge's Dieter Bohn) have noticed a "jelly scrolling" effect where one side of the screen scrolls at a different rate than the other, producing a wobble occasionally noticeable in portrait view. The effect is harder to spot if you tilt the iPad to a landscape orientation, but that's not much consolation if you like to read websites and social feeds 

We've asked Apple if it can comment on the jelly effect. It's unclear if the quirk is linked to hardware (such as the screen itself or a display controller) or can be addressed through software. We'll let you know if we have a chance to replicate the issue.

This won't necessarily hurt functionality, especially if you tend to use the iPad mini in landscape mode or view content that doesn't produce the effect. It's also uncertain just how widespread the issue really is. With that said, you probably won't be thrilled if you notice this wiggle on Apple's small-but-premium slate.

Samsung thinks it has a better way to develop brain-like chips: borrow existing brain structures. The tech firm has proposed a method that would "copy and paste" a brain's neuron wiring map to 3D neuromorphic chips. The approach would rely on a nanoelectrode array that enters a large volumes of neurons to record both where the neurons connect and the strength of those connections. You could copy that data and 'paste' it to a 3D network of solid-state memory, whether it's off-the-shelf flash storage or cutting-edge memory like resistive RAM.

Each memory unit would have a conductance that reflects the strength of each neuron connection in the map. The result would be an effective return to "reverse engineering the brain" like scientists originally wanted, Samsung said.

The move could serve as a 'shortcut' to artificial intelligence systems that behave like real brains, including the flexibility to learn new concepts and adapt to changing conditions. You might even see fully autonomous machines with true cognition, according to the researchers.

There's a glaring problem with complexity, however. As a human brain has roughly 100 billion neurons with a thousand times more synaptic links, an ideal neuromorphic chip would need about 100 trillion memory units. That's clearly a difficult challenge for any company, and that doesn't include the code needed to make this virtual brain work. Samsung may have opened a door to human-like AI, but it could take a long time before anyone reaches that goal.

Are you unable to unlock your brand new iPhone 13 with your Apple Watch? Don't despair just yet. According to MacRumors, Apple has promised to fix a bug that prevents the unlock through an "upcoming software update." You can turn off the feature in Settings and rely on passcodes until that solution is in place, Apple said, although it didn't offer a timeframe for the patch.

The flaw typically tells users the iPhone is "unable to communicate" with the Apple Watch. Others can't setup the unlock feature in the first place. As you might imagine, that's a significant hassle if you're wearing a face mask and can't use Face ID to sign in.

You might not have to wait too long. While Apple only recently started testing an iOS 15.1 beta, the company has a long history of delivering small-but-quick updates that fix glaring bugs and security holes. While this certainly isn't how Apple wanted the iPhone 13 launch to go, the issue isn't likely to last.

It took a long while, but Tesla is finally giving you some control over when (and if) you get Full Self Driving beta releases. The Washington Postnoted that Tesla has begun rolling out an FSD beta request button that lets you try the autonomous (really, semi-autonomous) technology before its wider release. The automaker won't just hand test code to anyone, though. Elon Musk noted that Tesla will "assess driving behavior" (like hard braking, aggressive turns or tailgating) for a week to reduce the chances of collisions.

The move could boost uptake for Full Self Driving betas and help Tesla refine the system for wider releases. The just-launched FSD 10.1 beta (mainly a bug fix) arrived too soon for that, but future software could be more polished or reach a general audience sooner.

Not everyone is thrilled with Tesla's rapid Full Self Driving expansion, however. The National Transportation Safety Board's new leader, Jennifer Homendy, recently joined other critics in accusing Tesla of "irresponsible" marketing for FSD technology that could lead to dangerous misuse. She also claimed Tesla was unresponsive to official recommendations for improvements. Beta requests may help Tesla achieve its goals sooner than before, but they won't address broader concerns about FSD's safety and whether or not customers should be testing semi-autonomous features on public roads.

The iPhone 13 series is barely in stores, but that isn't stopping a growing chorus of leaks surrounding next year's model. As 9to5Macnotes, Bloomberg's historically accurate Mark Gurman claimed the iPhone 14 will represent a "complete redesign" — the first since the iPhone X arrived in 2017. The relatively modest iPhone 13 update was a hint that bigger things were coming, he said. Gurman was shy on details of what that new hardware would entail, but earlier rumors might offer a clue as to what to expect.

Most notably, frequently accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed Apple would begin dropping the display notch entirely in 2022, starting with an iPhone 14 Pro that would use a hole-punch front camera like many Android phones. YouTuber Jon Prosser also claimed to have renders based on real-world photos of the new iPhone. The new model would supposedly resemble a supersized iPhone 4 with a band-like titanium outer ring, flush rear cameras and a thicker chassis.

Other rumors suggest Apple might drop a mini iPhone from the lineup, replacing it with a larger 'regular' model as well as the usual Pro offerings. There have been murmurs of under-display Touch ID, but it's not certain if this would be ready for 2022, if at all.

We'd take the reports with some caution. No matter how accurate the reports might be, the next iPhone is roughly a year away. There's still a chance Apple could make substantial changes before it locks in the design for production. Whatever the end result, the common theme of the leaks suggests the iPhone 14 could be an important revamp.

Don't worry if you missed out on an earlier deal for Apple's 2021 iPad. Amazon is selling the 64GB entry-level iPad for $299, or $30 off the usual price. The 256GB variant has dropped by a similar amount to $449. That matches a previous discount at Walmart, and is currently the lowest price we've seen for Apple's latest 10.2-inch slate. Just don't fret over color choices or shipping times — only Space Gray models appear to be in stock, and you'll have to wait one to three weeks.

The basic design of the iPad hasn't changed much in recent years, but the under-the-hood upgrades are particularly notable this year. The tablet now uses an A13 Bionic chip that's reportedly 20 percent faster than in the previous iPad, making it a better fit for gaming or creative tasks. This may also be a good pick for an era of remote work and virtual friend visits, as an ultra-wide 12MP front camera offers Center Stage to keep you in view as you move around.

Just don't expect a revamp on par with the new iPad mini or 2020's iPad Air. You won't find an all-screen design, USB-C, second-generation Pencil support or an improved rear camera. This is for anyone who wants a no-frills tablet that should still last a long while — if that's all you're looking for, you'll probably be happy.

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NASA clearly needs more astronauts if programs like Artemis are to be successful, and it thinks it has a clever sales pitch: a tech-savvy comic. The space agency has released an augmented reality graphic novel, First Woman, that tells the tale of the fictional Callie Rodriguez as she becomes (what else?) the first woman to land on the Moon. You can read the 40-page first issue as-is, but NASA really wants you to download a companion mobile app (for Android and iOS) or scan codes to experience environments and objects in a more engaging way.

Point your phone at special "XR" codes (through the app) or QR codes (if you prefer the web) and you can tour the Orion spacecraft, the Moon and other objects. You can also play games, watch videos and earn badges.

You can also listen to an audio version. NASA is also promising a Spanish-language version of the novel sometime in the future. The administration isn't shy about treating First Woman as a recruiting drive, but it may well be worth a download if you want to foster your kids' interests in space and science — and possibly learn a thing or two about NASA's long-term plans.

No, Netflix isn't done extracting every last drop of value from The Witcher. The streaming giant used its TUDUM event to tease a further expansion of its adapted fantasy series. There will be a third season of The Witcher, to no one's surprise, but Netflix also revealed plans for a second anime movie and, believe it or not, a "kids and family" series — a bit odd for fantasy world loaded with sex, violence and colorful language.

The company didn't provide release dates for any of the new projects. The second season of The Witcher premieres December 17th.

This isn't a completely unexpected move. Netflix clearly enjoyed success with the first season of The Witcher, and it's apparently confident enough in the second to prompt a renewal months in advance. The expansion would capitalize on that fandom and make it accessible to a much wider audience. It's just a question of whether or not viewers are willing to follow along, especially when iconic characters like Geralt and Yennefer might not be involved.